Greeting and some XJ questions

[Black Dog]

You don't necessarily need tons of upgrades and modifications. There was a place back in Nebraska in the sandhills I use to go with cheapo little street tires where I kept getting stuck, but once I had some better rubber it was a night and day difference and they were still stock size tires. And then if you want to do a little more expensive modification that will pay off big time in the long run lockers would be good. Even without having huge balloons for tires, just adding the lockers will help you keep traction in tough situations. I honestly think that lockers are probably the best thing you can add to a vehicle no matter what your tire size or how much lift you have, but they aren't always necessarily a budget enhancement.

 

[mudbutt]

Like others have said....

Check out Naxja.org, they have a ton of info....

Personally the first mod (for me) is rock rails....

If you do buy the XJ get a decent service manual and High-Performance Jeep Cherokee XJ Builder's Guide by Eric Zappe. There's a lot of info there as well.....

I would also recommend cruising around here:
http://www.go.jeep-xj.info/index.htm

 

[thethinginthewoods]

The thing with Cherokees, is when you do a modification, you have to modify something else. And when you modify that, you have to change something else. And so on, until forever it seems. ...

I couldn't have said it better myself. I went from trying to replace the wheel u-joints and bleeding the brakes to a COMPLETE rebuild/overhaul of EVERY component from the wheels up to the x-fer case. New steering, gears, brakes, suspension, entire axle assemblies stripped, cleaned & repainted, and I haven't even started on the enterior yet...

I hadn't planned on such a snow-ball effect when i started these "minor" upgrades and repairs. I have say, it's definitely a love/hate relationship.

(although, i bought it already highly modded as a wheeler and have only done routine maintanence such as oil changes, ignition & brakes. It has suffered around 3 years of very hard abuse and is finally getting the TLC it deserves.)

:Mechanic: <- this guy working on this rig -> :safari-rig:

 

[Purple People Eater]

Honestly a stock XJ will go about 80% of most places a typical person will want.

Yeah. In 2wd.

 

[SWbySWesty]

Just remember that you can hike where you can't drive

 

[Purzell]

Well, I'm pretty much sold on the XJ. I just have to be a bit patient and wait for spring so I can sell my other projects/addictions. That's cool, I'll put aside some money until then for extras.

 

[Purzell]

1997 Cherokee maintenance

Hey again...I'm going to go look at this 1997 Cherokee SE 4x4 4.0L that I mentioned earlier in this post. My understanding is that this car has a timing chain, not belt. Can someone tell me what is the interval for replacing that?

Besides the exhaust manifold cracking issue that was mentioned, what else might I want to ask about on this truck?

Thanks again!

 

[BIGdaddy]

I've never heard of the interval for the chain? maybe 100k? or when it gets noisy? or maybe simply inspecting it every few years?...never heard of one breaking to be honest.

I'd check for Oil filler/valve cover blowby when the oil cap is removed, coolant in the oil, 4x4 function, braking proportion, rusty undercarriage, doors that open and close easily, rattles and clunks, indicator and HVAC function, front steering tightness/wander...

as a start, anyways.

 

[ExpoMike]

I don't believe the 4.0 uses timing chains or belts but is gear driven. Many inline 6 cyl. are like that.

 

[Root Moose]

The 4.0 uses a timing chain with built in tensioner. I couldn't find a reference to the change interval in the FSM. It probably doesn't have one. It does say replace the chain if the deflection is more than 1/2" though.

 

[alexfm]

Here's my build so far.

XJ w/ 165k ....$2000.00
Baseline
maintenence...$200.00(cap rotor oil filter, plugs, plug wires, serp belt)
radiator..........$120.00
hoses/stat......$30.00
winch bumper...$300.00(winch mount/recovery point/battering ram/light/CB/2m mount)
hitch...............$50.00(towing and rear recovery point)
OnBoardAir(OBA)...free so far
_________________________________
total 2700.00

Planned
-Snorkel...$350.00(cheaper than new motor, IMO, been there done that)
-sliders.....$200.00
-tcase skid...$100.00
-homebrew lift kit(free so far)
-roof rack ($300)
-harbor frieght winch($250ish)
-CB radio ($40.00)
-2m radio ($100ish plus antenna)
-spare tire carrier ($380)

I figure I'll have about 4500.00 into my setup once I'm done. Hopefully less cuz
I always to find gently used parts, or with my logans metal bumper, I try to balance cost versus return.

If you dont mind me asking, what tire carrier are you using/looking to getting? I've been looking into them, but cant seem to find any for less that $500, which is way out of my budget right now.

Thanks,

Alex.

 

[Purzell]

2000 xj

Hey...I hope you guys don't mind me asking all of these questions. I am not a mechanic even though I do learn to fix things when they break!

In any case, I am also looking at a 2000 Cherokee with 118K on it. The owner says, "The oil pan gasket could be replaced." I'm assuming he means it has an oil leak. I am not afraid of a little oil pan gasket replacement (I don't think) but could it be the oil is coming from elsewhere? When I crawl under there are there other spots that might spell disaster, leaking oil?

 

[BIGdaddy]

If you dont mind me asking, what tire carrier are you using/looking to getting? I've been looking into them, but cant seem to find any for less that $500, which is way out of my budget right now.

Thanks,

Alex.

No problemo, alex. I'm fairly positive I'm going to get the detours tailbone. its a different type of approach to a tire carrier. Pretty cool and VERY stout.

http://www.detoursusa.com/tailbone.php (I think that's right)

 

[BIGdaddy]

Hey...I hope you guys don't mind me asking all of these questions. I am not a mechanic even though I do learn to fix things when they break!

In any case, I am also looking at a 2000 Cherokee with 118K on it. The owner says, "The oil pan gasket could be replaced." I'm assuming he means it has an oil leak. I am not afraid of a little oil pan gasket replacement (I don't think) but could it be the oil is coming from elsewhere? When I crawl under there are there other spots that might spell disaster, leaking oil?

Your questions are very welcome, no worries!

My motor is moist underneath like a ********. I have no problem checking oil levels at each fuel fill-up. I tend to add about a quart every couple thousand miles.

Other than the environmental irresponsibility, with having some oil drip every once and a while, or having some of it get washed away in the rain, I see no issue. Wouldn't stop me from buying any car.

If you are going to be wading through streams, though, let it be known that anywhere oil can get out, water has a chance of getting in...

That being said, the rear of the oil pan gasket has been known to give people issues, and I've read a few threads on naxja where owners have pulled their motors to ease the process..haha! There's probably a write-up or 10 on naxja about replacing all the normal leak culprits.

 

[ExpoMike]

Hey...I hope you guys don't mind me asking all of these questions. I am not a mechanic even though I do learn to fix things when they break!

In any case, I am also looking at a 2000 Cherokee with 118K on it. The owner says, "The oil pan gasket could be replaced." I'm assuming he means it has an oil leak. I am not afraid of a little oil pan gasket replacement (I don't think) but could it be the oil is coming from elsewhere? When I crawl under there are there other spots that might spell disaster, leaking oil?

No worries, ask away.

As for common oil leaks, the oil pan and/or rear main seal are common on higer mileage one. Another even more common one is the oil filter adapter housing. If you can get the tork bolt out, it's a cake to do with 3 new o-rings (dealer and aftermarket have the 3 o-ring kit). I built my own tool to make this easy to do and just did it on my 2000 back in Dec. Greatly cut down on the main leak.